Veni, Vidi, Vici
by AmethystDreamer
Summary: Disclaimer: I don"t own Glee. Rachel's POV of "She Lost". Fluff. Football. Playoffs. She can tell Finn is nervous, mostly because he told her.


**Title means "I came, I saw, I conquered" in Latin. I think it was Caesar who said it. Anyway, I can kind of see Rachel being like that, all battle ready and a commander on a horse. Seriously, can't you picture her like that?**

**Okay, well this is the sequel to "She Lost". Rachel's POV of the precedings. I hope you like it.**

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Rachel doesn't like Quinn, and she doesn't like to lose. The latter is something that anyone could figure out. When Rachel wants something, she fights for it with everything she has. Aggressive isn't a strong enough word to describe her attitude about achieving her desires- take no prisoners is more accurate. This whole thing between her, Finn, and Quinn, though, it wasn't a game, or even a win/lose situation. It had nothing to do, or very little, with being better than Quinn, but everything to do with the fact that he made her feel special, even when she wasn't singing.

Their friendship grew in leaps and bounds, especially after Rachel decided she would not chase him. She imagined talking to a reporter a few years from now, and she thought it would be so romantic if she were to say "I always knew Finn and I were meant to be. We had such great chemistry in high school when we preformed together, plus his girlfriend was all wrong for him. It really wasn't a surprise when he left her for me, his close friend."

He was quickly becoming her best friend. She knew it wasn't the same for him; he had lots of friends. Still, there was a definite rapport between them, evidenced by an interaction after school while everyone else was working on some chorography by themselves. She was doing her English homework, and he came and sat next to her.

"So, there's this chem. lab tomorrow." He told her. "Do you want to be partners?"

Rachel didn't look up, because if she looked into his eyes, she knew she would crumble into mush. "I won't do your share of the work."  
"I'm not all that bad at chemistry." He sounded slightly offended. "Anyway, being partners is about sharing the work load."  
"Partners then."  
To her relief, he didn't say anything else for a while. She was trying to untangle a particularly nasty bit of Shakespeare, and even for someone as smart as her, focus was needed. Also, it was already hard to concentrate when she could literally feel his body heat.

"There's a football game tonight. You should come."

Maybe because it was an actual invitation, Rachel immediately stopped thinking about her English work.

"It'll be fun!" He wheedled. "We're playing another good team."

She sighed. "I'll go, but only if you leave me alone until I finish this."

He smiled, and she was surprised at how happy the news made him. "Deal."  
That night, she went casual. Wearing jeans and sweatshirt felt very strange, but she had to get used to wearing all sorts of different kinds of clothes, so when that she was in a movie or play, she wouldn't feel too out of sorts due to the wardrobe.

Anyway, it was cold, so the sweatshirt was in fact useful. Watching the game was actually a little exciting, especially when Finn was on the field. Her heart would pound every time he got the ball (which was every play. Rachel knew he was good, but it was getting kind of predictable.) and not stop until he walked off the field. A few times the other team hit him, and Rachel gasped along with the rest of the crowd, and clenched her fists while waiting for him to get up. McKinley High won, and Rachel clapped for a while, then left with everyone else. She wanted to talk to Finn, to let him know that she had cheered for him, so she sat on a low wall outside the gate where she could see everyone leave. In her purse, she thought she had stuck her novel, so she pulled that out and started reviewing the chapter.

A few minutes later, she heard a voice shouting her name. It came from a large group of football players and cheerleaders. Finn broke free of the mass, and walked over to her.

"I can't believe you came."  
"Well, you know, I've always believed in taking advantage of all the experiences offered by high school."

His arm gently brushed her as Finn sat down next to her. "Did you like it?"

"I liked watching you. I didn't really understand much else." She admitted.

"Okay, every time the ball is carried into the end zone, we get points."

Rachel sniffed. "I get that much, thank you."

He smiled, and in the light of the street lamps he looked like he did on stage, and it made her heart lurch.

Finn nudged her shoulder. "I'm really glad you came. I gotta admit, I was shocked when I first saw you."

"I wasn't sure if you did see me, so I waited. To make sure you know I didn't back out of our agreement."

In a very friendly manner, he threw his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her the tiniest bit closer. "I thought you save it for an important game."  
It was almost disturbing how much she wanted to be closer to his body heat. For a second she closed her eyes and imagined them on some exotic beach, but then she remembered there were in a parking lot, and he was waiting for a response. "Um, All wins are important." She replied. "I always wondered if you could see the audience in sports, or if it is like being on stage, with the lights blinding you."  
She could practically feel his curious gaze boring holes in her head, but she was too frightened to do much else than keep her eyes fixed straight ahead.

"I don't usually see the people." He sounded rather thoughtful. "But I saw you. Probably because you are easy to find in a crowd."

"Really?" Gathering all of her courage, she turned her face to him, and they were so close.

"Yeah." He answered. "I would know. I'm also very easy to find in a crowd."  
Was she supposed to be happy with him teasing her? Was he flirting? How was she going to respond?

"Very clever. Haha." It was lame, but he was so close, and she was distracted trying to slow her racing heard.

Was it her, or was Finn's face coming closer? It was, and his amazing eyes were fixed on hers, and then headlights flashed across them and they sprang apart. Rachel stood. "It's my dad. I have to go."

Finn stood too, and they walked the short distance to the car. He hugged her then, quickly, with a nervous glance into the car. "Thank you for coming."

As they drove away, Rachel looked back at him, and he was staring after her car. She waved out the window to him, and grinned when he waved back.

The next Monday, some rumor was flying around about her, and even if she refused to show it, it did hurt her feelings. Rachel thought the best way to handle things was like Vanessa Hudgens, with her head high and with dignity. She figured if she ignored it, it would go away, and really who cares what her loser classmates thought of her? She didn't count on Finn, though, and maybe she could have. When some girl in Chemistry said something to her about the alleged act, and asked if it was true, Finn looked straight at her and said, "Of course it is not true. Mind your own business."

Rachel thanked him, quietly, with a blush on her face, but it wasn't enough to show how incredible it felt to know that someone had her back.

She knew that things were deteriorating with Quinn, mostly because of Rachel, but she was nonetheless shocked when Finn told her that Quinn cheated on him with his best friend. Rachel was outraged on his behalf, angry and hurt for him. Quinn had Finn, the most amazing, talented, sweet guy in school, and she gave him up. Yes, Rachel was a little happy, but not that Finn was hurt.

For the next few days, Rachel caught him looking at her in an inquisitive manner, as though he was trying to see through her. The lingering gazes and touches during practice went on until by the end of rehearsal, Rachel felt like she was made of carbonation, and it was fizzing up inside of her.

The culmination of those tense weeks came on Friday night when Rachel went to her second football game. This was an important game, one where if they lost, their season was done. She could tell how nervous Finn was, mostly because he told her. But also, he tapped his pencil against any surface he could find, and he kept trying those calming breathing exercises that Mr. Shue taught them.

The point was, this game was important to Finn, and Rachel was determined to support him. After all he's done for her, it was the least she could do. This time, she made a point to get a front row seat, and resolved to pay very close attention. Still, the game was extremely difficult to understand, regardless of how hard she was trying to pay attention, and by the time she was clear on exactly what was going on, the fourth quarter was almost over. According to the giant scoreboard on the other side of the field, there were 30 seconds left, and Finn's team was down by four. They had the ball, and even Rachel could feel the excitement in the air as the clock wound down and Finn got the ball. With no regard whatsoever for her vocal chords, Rachel yelled with the rest of the crowd, hoping maybe he'd hear her encouragement and it would lift him to new heights. Maybe it worked because the ball left his hand in a perfect arc, straight into the hands of the waiting receiver in the end zone. Utter pandemonium swept over the entire stadium. Finn pulled off his helmet, and an instant before his teammates swarmed him, he looked at her, and smiled. Directly at Rachel Berry. Her heart thumped in her chest the way it did at the end of a performance, and she was caught up with the crowd at they stormed the field. Rachel, though small, was tough, and she used her elbows to fight her way through the people to try to find Finn. He apparently felt the same way, because suddenly arms were around her waist and she was being lifted into the air.

"We won!" He said in her ear. "And you came."

When Finn set her down, she turned around and flung her arms around him, completely disregarding his sweaty jersey. Before either of them could think, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. It was a movie moment, but she wouldn't realize it until later because all she could think about was how good he felt pressed up against her.

His tongue slipped into her mouth, and her knees went weak. The rest of the noise and excitement faded until all she was aware of was him.

When Finn withdrew enough to lean his head against hers, Rachel slowly opened her eyes to find his own dark ones only a few inches away.

"After coach's talk, do you want to go get something to eat?" She could literally feel his words vibrate through her chest.  
"Sure." She said, faintly. "Sounds like fun."  
After kissing her one more time, he went with the rest of the football team into the locker room.

Rachel felt like floating, and it was because of Finn, and not the way Quinn was glaring at her.

She heard a few days later, from Finn actually, about how Quinn had tried to seduce her (yes, her) boyfriend. Ordinarily, she would have been jealous and insecure, but something in her told her that this relationship was going to stay strong, no matter what anyone else said or did.

If she ever needed to be reminded, all she had to do was look into his eyes.

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The ending was a little corny, but I'm okay with that. Please reveiw!


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